My original plan was to rank every Topps flagship all-star design, but I immediately ran into a major problem. I only have examples of about half of them. Out of those... some would require me to dig them out of storage which would be very time consuming.
Fortunately, I have an 80's binder filled with stars and subsets that is easily accessible. So the new plan is to rank all of the 80's Topps flagship all-star designs.
My rankings were based primarily on the designs on the card fronts. However if there are two designs that I enjoy equally... then I'll use the card backs as a tie-breaker. It's my post... so my preference... and my guidelines.
Let's get it started...
#10: 1980 Topps
1980 Topps #310
1980 Topps #580
Topps started utilizing the all-star banner in 1977 and with the exception of 1979... used it until 1981. Personally I like it when Topps creates a designated subset for the all-stars. However when they don't, the banners do a nice job, because they are easily distinguished and don't clutter the original design.
#9: 1981 Topps
1981 Topps #300
1981 Topps #540
1981 slightly beats out the 1980 all-stars, because Topps color coded the banners. And back in the early 80's, I was a big fan of the American League Red and National League Green books.
1986 Topps #708
1986 Topps #719
In fact, my favorite thing about them are the interesting pieces of trivia on the card backs which are directly related to player and the statistic they were on the leader board of.
#7: 1985 Topps
The 1985 Topps all-stars replaced the team logo from the base design with a yellow star. It's a slight improvement over the boring 1986 design. I would have put it a little higher had they color coded the American League and National League players like they did in previous years.
#6: 1988 Topps
This is where things start to get good. I really like the 1988 Topps all-star design. In fact, I like it more than the regular base card design. I like how Topps wrote out American League and National League across the top of the card in cursive and in contrasting colors to their league colors. Plus this design reminds me of something Topps would have produced in the 60's.
#5: 1983 Topps
I like the 1983 and 1988 Topps all-star designs equally... which means that I used the card backs as a tie-breaker. The 1983 Topps all-star backs are highlights and summaries of famous MLB All-Star Games.
#7: 1985 Topps
1985 Topps #713
1985 Topps #704
#6: 1988 Topps
1988 Topps #405
1988 Topps #389
#5: 1983 Topps
1983 Topps #406
1983 Topps #391
Topps could have done a better job with their color coordination. I feel like blue stands out more on the Rickey... when it should be red. And vice versa for Steve Carlton.
#4: 1984 Topps
Topps got the American League and National League colors correct in 1984. The team names on the left side and the player's name at the bottom are color coordinated with the teams and not part of the league colors.
#4: 1984 Topps
1984 Topps #399
1983 Topps #389
The card backs include some interesting trivia about the player... as well as their marital status. Maybe Gregory over at Nine Pockets will start a Dating Game series with this subset one day.
#3: 1982 Topps
#3: 1982 Topps
1982 Topps #341
1982 Topps #547
When I started putting together my rankings, this was the design I originally put in the #1 spot. I like how it blends in with the regular base card design... while still stands out with it's unique color scheme. Plus they were the first Topps all-star cards that stood out to me when I started collecting back in the early 80's.
#2: 1987 Topps
1987 Topps #599
1987 Topps #611
After scanning all of the designs and laying them out... this one (and my #1 pick) stood out above the rest. I love the red, white, and blue stars at the bottom... along with the American League and National League logos at the top.
The only thing I would have done differently is change the red banner on the National League players to blue. Regardless... if and when I create my all-time Topps flagship all-star rankings, this one will be in the Top 10... and possibly in the Top 5. I absolutely love it.
#1: 1989 Topps
1989 Topps #394
1989 Topps #401
By now you may have noticed how much color coordination plays a role in my rankings and out of all of the 80's designs, I think it stands out the most with this one.
I love everything about this subset design. Topps did a great job of integrating the National and American League titles into the the red, white, and blue banners. Plus the player's position located in the yellow star is a perfect touch.
I honestly went back and forth between the 1987 and 1989 all-star designs, but didn't want to do the #1a and #1b thing. However... I feel like I can easily see myself flip flopping between these two designs in future ranking posts.
Well there you have it. My Topps all-star rankings for the 80's. Feel free to leave your personal picks down below in the comment section.
As for tonight's game, I won't be watching it. I don't have regular cable and none of my streaming services are showing it. But I will be following along online.
Well that's it for today...
Happy Tuesday and sayonara!
Definitely gives a new perspective on the 1987 Topps designs that many dislike. I think I would have placed it #1, the cards backs wouldn't have helped for the tie-breaker, lol. 1983 would be my #2.
ReplyDeleteThe ‘89 set is confusing, because I believe there is a DH for the AL, but if you have the Kirk Gibson card, it lists him as a ‘Pinch-Hitter’
ReplyDeleteI am a Front Banner man and would rather have the All Stars presented that way. So I would go 1980 and then 1981 at the top.
ReplyDeleteI would then put 1987 with the awesome AL and NL Logos
I thought the 1988 All Stars were a take off of 1951 Topps
I didn't care too much for 80s All-Star cards. Not a big fan of head shots. But If I had to choose a fav, It would be the '87 design.
ReplyDeleteI can't argue with your Top 3 at all, though I personally like the '87 design just slightly more. I always thought the simple banners like '80 and '81 would be a great way to recognize every player that made the All-Star team without taking too much from the base set itself. It'd be fun to look back at a set like 1981 Topps and see an All-Star banner for less herald guys like Tom Burgmeier or Jim Bibby.
ReplyDelete87 hits me in the feels (also 88 and 89 to a lesser degree) but my favorite is 84 which manages to look like a distinct subset while also being recognizably part of the whole set as well. I'd like 82 more if it used red instead of pink.
ReplyDeleteMy two favorites are the 1984 and 1983 sets, but you're list is solid and arguments are well-articulated.
ReplyDelete1980 is first for me, I almost want to disqualify the years when the all-stars got extra cards.
ReplyDeleteThat 1981 Paul Molitor brings back some great memories. It was one of the few baseball sets I opened packs of when I was a kid (OPC in Canada).
ReplyDeleteThe photo just screams summer baseball to me. I imagine a warm Sunday afternoon, maybe the wrap-up of the first part of a doubleheader. Paul’s just sitting back and soaking it all in. The look he has, the simple background of the dugout and of course…that uniform. Outstanding.
Posted something similar in 2017. Good Job!
ReplyDeletehttps://johnsbigleaguebaseballblog.blogspot.com/2017/06/sabr-cards-has-1980s-baseball-card-poll.html?m=1
johnnys trading spot - seems like the 1987 design is pretty popular among the people who commented. as for the card backs, i wish topps made them all-star game related on a more regular basis
ReplyDeletejeremya1um - don't have the gibson card laying around, but i just looked it up on comc. that's very interesting that they gave him the ph position. thanks for pointing that out
john bateman - you're totally right about the 88 design being related to the 1951 topps design. i didn't catch that until you pointed it out.
big tone - yeah, i'm not a head shot guy either. but if they reserved them for all-star cards and utilized action shots for their regular base cards, i'd be okay with that
matt - i like the idea of giving all of the all-stars (especially the ones who participated in the game) a banner... especially since it doesn't take too much away from the card.
nick vossbrink - it's funny... i actually like the use of weird colors (like pink) in the 1982 topps set
the snorting bull - when it comes to overall 80's flagship designs... 1983 and 1984 topps are high on the list.
night owl - i'd much rather have an all-star subset... than having it as an insert (like in 1997, 2007, and the past couple of years).
bamlinden - nice breakdown on the molitor. i wish i could say that i chose him for that reason, but i actually only had him and george brett available to scan and i knew i was going to use brett later on.
john sharp - great post. you and i have similar tastes.